Resolute’s success in reducing our carbon emissions and our ongoing efforts to mitigate climate change have earned the company a 2019 Sustainability Award for best Sustainability Initiative of the Year (project) from the Business Intelligence Group . The organization’s Sustainability Awards annually honor people, teams and organizations who have made sustainability an integral part of their business practice or overall mission.

Employees of Resolute’s Thunder Bay sawmill proudly presented a cheque for $10,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Thunder Bay during a ceremony held at the sawmill on April 30. Pat Suddaby, president of the board of directors, and Doug Adams, director of the board, accepted the donation on behalf of the organization.

Resolute’s Thunder Bay (Ontario) pulp and paper mill is proud to contribute $15,000 to the Special Olympics Canada 2020 Winter Games, as sponsor of the closing ceremony. The Games will be held in Thunder Bay from February 25-29, 2020, and will cover eight sports competitions: alpine skiing, five-pin bowling, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, floor hockey, snowshoeing and speed skating. Over 1,200 athletes, coaches, managers and staff from across Canada are expected to participate.

The residents of Saguenay (Quebec) will gain access to an area of stunning natural beauty when the site of Resolute’s former Port-Alfred mill is sold to the City of Saguenay for the symbolic amount of $1. The area, which measures approximately 0.3 square kilometers (0.1 square miles), features a dramatic landscape dominated by the awe-inspiring Saguenay Fjord (a narrow inlet bound by steep cliffs). The sale will be concluded later in 2019 and is contingent upon a promise from the City that the site will remain accessible to the public.

Resolute communications initiatives have been recognized with four Galaxy Awards. The international competition for product and service marketing sponsored by MerComm is an independent organization founded with the exclusive purpose of evaluating, measuring and recognizing the standards of excellence. Our 2017 Annual and Sustainability Report earned a gold award in the Copywriting category for the Americas. We also received three bronze awards in the following three categories: Copywriting, for our Letter to Stockholders; Annual Reports – Printed; and Videos-DVDs, for our “We Believe in Shared Values” video.

Our Thunder Bay (Ontario) pulp and paper mill has received a Workplace Excellence Award from Workplace Safety North, an independent not-for-profit that provides province-wide ministry-approved workplace health and safety training and services for the mining and forest products industries, as well as for businesses. The awards are presented to member companies that promote a strong safety culture through their ongoing commitment to preventing illness and injury, and to continuous improvement.

The Excellence Awards have selected Resolute as the winner of their North American Excellence Award for Corporate Responsibility. Our submission focused on the environmental pillar of our sustainability strategy. In particular, actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigate climate change have been key elements of our annual sustainability commitments for the past seven years.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has recognized Resolute’s proactive approach to health and safety with a 2018 Leadership in Sustainability Award. The Leadership in Sustainability Awards are designed to recognize exemplary sustainability programs and initiatives in the paper and wood products manufacturing industry. Resolute is one of only five companies to receive a 2018 AF&PA Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 Sustainability Award. The Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 initiative is based on an extensive set of sustainability goals for the U.S. pulp and paper industry.

Resolute has earned two 2018 Business Intelligence Group (BIG) Awards for Business: the Green Company of the Year Award and the Green Product of the Year Award, both in the Manufacturing category. The Green Company of the Year Award recognizes our business and sustainability strategies, which are focused on improving the energy efficiency of our operations, producing renewable energy, and reducing waste as well as our reliance on fossil fuels. These strategies have been expressly developed to align our efforts in environmental stewardship and social responsibility with our business objectives, an approach that reinforces our vision that profitability and sustainability drive our future. Our Green Heritage® recycled tissue line was selected as the Green Product of the Year.

On August 30, 2018, Resolute announced that it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement with ND Paper LLC, a subsidiary of Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited (“Nine Dragons”), for the sale of our Fairmont (West Virginia) recycled bleached kraft pulp mill, for US$55 million plus certain elements of working capital, payable in cash.

Given the environmental impact associated with the manufacture, transportation and use of plastic bottles, Resolute has launched an initiative to phase out the purchase and distribution of single-use plastic bottles across all its offices and facilities.

Resolute will invest over C$7 million to restore the dam located on the Malbaie River, in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, adjacent to its Clermont newsprint mill.

C$200,000 donated to Lac-Saint-Jean community and health organizations

On August 23, 2018, Resolute donated C$200,000 to four community and health organizations based in the Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. Through Resolute’s 2018 golf tournament, the company raised $95,000 for the Dolbeau-Mistassini and Roberval hospital foundations, respectively, as well as $5,000 for the regional chapter of Leucan, and another $5,000 for the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation.

On August 15, 2018, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) held a ceremony to honor the employees of Resolute’s Grenada (Mississippi) newsprint mill for the Leadership Circle Award the mill won in late 2017. The Leadership Circle recognizes TVA customers who have taken meaningful steps to significantly reduce their carbon emissions and is reserved for companies that achieve the lowest carbon emission rates in a given year.

Éric Paradis, vice president of Business Development, Wood Products at Resolute, has been elected chairman of the Canadian Wood Council (CWC), an organization dedicated to promoting the use of Canadian wood products through education and communication. The CWC’s vision is to be passionate, credible agents of change leading an advanced and sustainable wood culture. The council produces technical information about wood products and communicates it to the construction and academic communities to ensure knowledge is transferred and target audiences are educated about wood as a superior building product.

Saint-Félicien (Quebec), June 21, 2018 – The management of Resolute is proud of its employees’ workplace safety record reached at La Doré and Girardville sawmills, in Quebec. Mobilizing all employees from both sawmills has meant that we have surpassed the threshold of 1,250,000 working hours and 500,000 working hours without a single recorded injury, as of May 4 and 18 respectively.

Saint-Thomas-Didyme (Quebec), June 20, 2018 – Resolute announced today investments totalling $12.3 million in three sawmills, Saint-Thomas, Girardville, and Mistassini, and in the Normandin planer mill, which are all located in Maria-Chapdelaine regional county municipality in the Lac-Saint-Jean region. The announcement was made during the inauguration of the new equipment installed at the Saint-Thomas sawmill, which was attended by Gilles Tremblay and Alain Tremblay, city councillors of Saint-Thomas-Didyme, as well as other dignitaries and company employees.

Since the beginning of the year, we have announced strategic investments of over C$80 million aimed at optimizing equipment and processes, and incorporating new technologies into the manufacturing processes at several of our pulp and wood products operations in Quebec.

Picture caption (from left to right): Jean Ménard, General Manager at Saint-Félicien pulp mill, Yves Laflamme, President and Chief Executive Officer at Resolute, Philippe Couillard, The Premier of Quebec, Luc Gibbons, Mayor of Saint-Félicien, and Serge Simard, member for Dubuc and Parliamentary assistant to the Premier for the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region

Saint-Félicien (Quebec), May 14, 2018 – Resolute today announced a $52.3 million strategic investment plan for its Saint-Félicien pulp mill, located in the Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. The announcement was made at a press conference attended by Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, and many dignitaries and company employees.

Resolute announced major investmentstotaling $12,956,700 in its La Doré wood products facilities, located in the Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. The announcement was made during a press conference attended by Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, as well as dignitaries and company employees.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has recognized Resolute with the 2017 AF&PA Leadership in Sustainability Award for Energy Efficiency/Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction for our GHG reduction program. The award was presented at AF&PA’s annual meeting on November 3 in Greensboro, Georgia.

Resolute was honored with a 2017 Gold Stevie® from the International Business Awards (IBA), during Saturday’s award ceremony held in Barcelona, Spain. We received top honors for the best Health, Safety and Environment Program of the Year for all of the United States and Canada. This year, there were close to 4,000 entries from over 60 nations.

In the wake of the destruction caused by a series of hurricanes that recently hit the Southern United States and the Caribbean, Resolute has stepped up to assist the rebuilding and humanitarian efforts with donations of lumber and tissue products, as well as basic necessities.

Resolute has won another prestigious Gold Stevie® from the International Business Awards (IBA), taking top honors in 2017 for the best Health, Safety and Environment Program of the Year for all of the United States and Canada. This year, there were close to 4,000 entries from over 60 nations.

Richard Garneau, Resolute’s and chief executive officer, is the proud recipient of the John Dobson Medal for Free Enterprise – for a lifetime of principled leadership and advocacy on behalf of Canada’s forest products industry.

Resolute’s 2016 Annual Report Now Available

Principled Leadership, the theme of our 2016 Annual Report, reflects how Resolute brings principled leadership to every aspect of our operations, including the way we conduct business, manage the precious resources in our care and engage with our many stakeholders.

The company distinguishes itself in the Sustainable Development category.

Resolute received the Mercure award for Sustainable Development at the 2017 Mercuriades Gala held at Montréal’s Palais des Congrès on April 24. The company earned praise from the jury for its involvement in Toundra Greenhouse, located in Saint-Félicien (Quebec) an innovative joint venture in which we are one of the main partners.

The Mercuriades Awards, created by the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec in 1981, are the province’s most prestigious business competition. The Mercuriades celebrate the ambition, innovation and performance of Quebec businesses.

Resolute is donating $1 million over five years toward the creation of a prestigious industrial research Chair sponsored by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC). Our contribution, along with that of the Government of Quebec, the university and the university’s foundation, will support research into the boreal forest and the impact of changes in the landscape on black spruce growth in the context of climate change. A particular focus will be on the infestation of the spruce budworm that is currently presenting major challenges for the forest products industry.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has echoed discredited assertions made by their colleagues at Greenpeace in the last several years. NRDC’s statement appeared on November 2 and explicitly criticizes our litigation against Greenpeace.

It is our very commitment to responsible forestry—and to our integrity as a business—that obliges us to stand up against irresponsible accusations and unethical demands.

And that is what we have been doing for over three years now, in response to a carefully planned series of attacks and threats by activists at Greenpeace and other like-minded groups — attacks founded on ulterior financial motives, hidden deals, and a near total lack of transparency or accountability.

September 26, 2016, represented a significant milestone in Mike “Frito” Hunter’s life. It was exactly 50 years ago that he began working at our Catawba pulp and paper mill in South Carolina.

Mike joined the company in 1966 at the age of 23 as a utility power worker and saw his responsibilities gradually evolve with the modernization of the Catawba operation. Over the years, he has continuously adapted to change and kept up with the latest technology. He is currently an electrical and instrument master craftsman on a rotating shift schedule.

Resolute is partnering once again with FPInnovations, a world-leading R&D organization, to develop new, eco-friendly products that have the potential to create renewable, biodegradable and cost-effective alternatives to petroleum-based products for use in the construction, automotive, mining, oil and other sectors.

We are pleased to join the CPLC, a voluntary global partnership that brings together leaders across national and sub-national governments, the private sector, and civil society to help address climate change through putting a price on carbon.

The Governor General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, visited our Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill on March 29 as part of a trip to northern Ontario.

President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Garneau kicked off the event, providing a high-level overview of the company with a focus on our Northwestern Ontario operations and our overall commitment to sustainability.

We work and live and help grow businesses in Canada, the United States and South Korea, and we bring forest products to markets around the world in a responsible, ethical, and sustainable way.

We are one of the largest holders of sustainable forest management certifications globally, and every one of the millions of hectares/acres of land we manage in Canada are certified as sustainable or responsible by one or more independent and internationally recognized standards.

A February 4 press release by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) misrepresents the substance and status of Resolute’s good faith efforts to engage in dialogue with FSC. The release relies entirely on the subjective and mistaken opinion of its lead executive, Kim Carstensen. Here are the facts:

Contrary to FSC’s characterization of our “unwillingness”, Resolute has repeatedly indicated that we are open to taking part in multi-party discussions on policies affecting forestry in Ontario and Quebec. Our initial statement confirmed our position.

In its February 4 press release, FSC International claimed that Resolute is “unwilling” to “engage in efforts to resolve the problems” we have expressed legitimate concerns about in good faith. However, FSC has failed to respond to these concerns since we first raised them in November. We’ve decided to publish all of the correspondence that has taken place since that time, so that those interested can learn the truth.

On January 28, 2016, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) published a report containing a number of inaccurate statements regarding Resolute. The report wrongly claims that significant forestlands, beyond the extensive areas already protected, could be set aside for protection with no impact on jobs and communities. Unfortunately, CPAWS has grossly distorted the facts to suit its agenda, emphasizing certain points while ignoring others. This report doesn’t just hurt Resolute and our employees – it omits key facts and misrepresents data to push for policy changes that would lead to serious consequences for First Nations and northern communities.

Although WWF and FSC continue to insist on good-faith collaboration, they have again launched a seemingly coordinated, public attack on Resolute without warning or consultation. That’s not collaborative, it’s not in good faith, and it’s at odds with the tenor and spirit of our productive, face-to-face meetings with WWF in the recent past. Resolute is one of many companies with legitimate and serious concerns over FSC processes, and yet the attacks—led by non-collaborative groups like Greenpeace, but sadly abetted by others—have focused almost exclusively on Resolute. Worse yet, the attacks rely on poor assumptions, flawed information, and skewed perspectives and motives. Here’s how.

A well-researched piece by Peter Kuitenbrouwer (“Battle for the Boreal”, Financial Post, December 3, 2015) on Resolute confronting challenges in Quebec’s Boreal Forest affirms what our customers, colleagues, and neighbors have long known: Resolute is dedicated to transparency and accountability in all that we do, and will continue to stand on these principles against any who would challenge our commitment to the region and its peoples.

Today, Resolute followed up on our December 2014 commitment to implement a new corporate sustainability reporting strategy – moving to a biannual online format that we believe will ensure up-to-date and easily accessible information for all stakeholders.

New TV documentary series explores the lives of forestry truckers – including one Resolute partner.

Helming a tractor trailer heavily loaded with fresh-cut spruce across rough logging roads in the winter is not for the faint of heart. But it’s just another day for the men behind the wheels of the massive transport trucks that move timber from harvested areas to the sawmills of Quebec.

To mark the 55th anniversary of the U.S. National Forest Products Week, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation praising paper and wood-based products for the value they lend in everyday life. Forest products manufacturers and organizations through the value chain are joining to Celebrate Forest Products (#CelebrateFP).

The town of Shawinigan is currently taking possession of Resolute’s closed Laurentide paper mill to prepare it for its new tenant, Nemaska Lithium.

Lithium is used to makes batteries for almost every rechargeable electronic device and portable tool as well as for electric car batteries. And it is the electronics market that is driving the global demand for lithium. A mining company, Nemaska Lithium, estimates the market for battery-grade lithium is predicted to grow 30% from 2012 to 2020.

In response to Weltspiegel, a program that recently aired on First German Public Television (ARD) and included inaccurate information about Resolute’s operations in Canada, we would like to clarify several points that were central to the story:

Greenpeace and other like-minded activists claim that Resolute does not collaborate with First Nations. This allegation is categorically untrue. In Canada, we have close ties with over 39 First Nations communities in Ontario and Quebec. Most, if not all, of the forest management units where Resolute sources timber are fully or largely within areas that one or several First Nations have identified as their traditional land. Therefore, most, if not all, of Resolute’s forest management activities require prior collaboration and harmonization with one or more First Nations before these activities take place.

Over the last year or more, we announced a number of significant investments, including:

CALHOUN, TENNESSEE: US$105 million upgrade to our pulp and paper mill.The new digerester will significantly lower the mill’s operating costs while adding capacity. When it is implemented (ramp-up starts late 2015) we expect to have an additional 100,000 metric tons of market pulp available on an annualized basis.

We are excited to share that Resolute was named the winner of a Gold Stevie® Award in the Health, Safety & Environment Program of the Year – in Canada and the U.S.A. and that our Vice President Environment and Climate Change, Pascale Lagacé, was named the winner of a Silver Stevie® Award in Woman of the Year category in the 12th Annual International Business Awards!

The International Business Awards (IBAs) are the world’s premier business awards program. All individuals and organizations worldwide – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small – are eligible to submit nominations. The 2015 IBAs received entries from more than 60 nations and territories.

As previously posted, we are encouraged to read recent comments by Greenpeace that it is willing to engage Northern communities, workers, First Nations and governments in finding long-term sustainable solutions for the boreal. And we welcome this change of heart by Greenpeace.

In this spirit, Resolute welcomes a resumption of discussions, with the full inclusion of governments, communities, workers and First Nations. At the same time, we are asking Greenpeace to confirm that it will participate in this process. But until this happens, be sure that both Greenpeace and ForestEthics hear you by emailing them directly at act.resolutefp.com.

We are encouraged to read recent comments by Greenpeace that it is willing to engage Northern communities, workers, First Nations and governments in finding long-term sustainable solutions for the boreal. Clearly, Greenpeace has heard the voices of the people of the boreal.

Resolute has been consistent on the need for inclusive discussions, negotiations, and compromise solutions, developed in collaboration with governments, communities, workers and First Nations that lead to the most sustainable outcomes. And we welcome this change of heart by Greenpeace.

For the past two years, Greenpeace and ForestEthics have waged attack campaigns against Resolute and the people of the boreal forest. Resolute is demanding an end to their misinformation campaign and a seat at the table for the people who live and work in the boreal. If you want to make your voice heard, please visit act.resolutefp.com to send an email right now to Greenpeace and ForestEthics. We believe you deserve a voice.

Their market campaigning does not reflect on-the-ground forestry practices and sustainability leadership in Canada. It is based on inaccurate allegations. The fact that the Canadian boreal is considered among the best managed, if not THE best managed, forests in the world does not seem to matter to Greenpeace and ForestEthics.

In her recent blog post, “Business under an attack: Lessons from Resolute Forest Products”, Dr. Jaana Woiceshyn, a professor of business ethics and competitive strategy at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business offers an argument in support of businesses standing up against “bullying” from ENGO activist attacks. In particular, she writes about our CEO, Richard Garneau, and his response to recent attacks by ForestEthics.

At Resolute, safety and community relations go hand in hand. Having surpassed its milestone of 250,000 injury-free hours, our Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill team was awarded $5,000 in charitable donation dollars from Resolute’s Board of Directors Safety Award program. This year, the Joint Health and Safety Committee representing the workers and management chose to donate the proceeds to the upcoming Ronald McDonald House Charity Golf Tournament to be held in August.

There is a threat to the boreal forest in Canada. It’s more dangerous than fire or insect infestation, and it’s more destructive to local communities, First Nations and workers than economic downturns or changing market conditions.

We carry it with us every day. We make memories with it. We package gifts in it. It holds our coffee. And now we are sharing the warmth and creativity that paper and paper-based packaging offers us all through the Paper & Packaging – How Life Unfolds™ consumer campaign.

This isn’t another D.C. black tie event. With a menu featuring South Carolina specialties and a crowd of 600 attendees enjoying nature’s splendour – outside and in Washington, D.C. – the Annual Arboretum Dinner is unlike any other fundraiser in the capital.

The Council of the Innu of Pessamit and Resolute signed a collaboration agreement to promote economic development for the First Nation and Resolute’s North Shore operations.

Signed on June 3, 2015 in Pessamit, the agreement, titled, A Balance Between the Protection of Nitassinan and Economic Development, provides mainly for the recruitment, training and hiring of Innu labor. Over the short and medium terms, members of the Pessamit community could benefit from dozens of job opportunities at Resolute operations. The agreement also provides for investment in Innu businesses in the forest, biofuel and wildlife industries.

On Wednesday, May 27th, close to 30 mayors and other elected officials from communities across Northern Ontario and Northern Quebec held a press conference in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, to highlight the inaccurate and deceptive anti-forestry campaign being waged by Greenpeace and other like-minded activists. Following the press conference, the regional leaders met with a range of federal officials and frankly discussed their concerns regarding market campaign activities, which specifically target the purchase of products from Canada’s boreal forest. The elected municipal officials highlighted Canada’s green credentials, its world leading forestry practices, and the socio-economic importance of the forest products industry to hundreds of communities across the country.

On May 14, 2015, Resolute signed a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Chief Wilfred King of the Gull Bay (Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek, or KZA) First Nation to identify and pursue new economic opportunities.

Last week we took an important step in our continuing effort to regain our Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certifications. In case you’re new to the issue, the FSC is an organization that sets standards for how companies like ours work in and protect the forest, its wildlife and its people. Resolute has been, and remains today, a supporter of FSC certification standards, both in terms of sustainable forest management certification and chain of custody certification. In fact, we remain one of the largest holders of FSC certificates in North America. Resolute has also gone above and beyond complying with government approved harvest plans, regulations and recovery plans for species at risk, and we have third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to at least one of three internationally recognized sustainable forest management standards.

Resolute and six First Nations celebrate a ground-breaking agreement in Ontario

Engaging our First Nations partners to support our operations in Northwestern Ontario just became a little more official. On February 10th, we signed a Memorandum of Agreement that sets out the framework for several contracts that have resulted in C$100 million in new business for our six First Nations MOA partners.

On February 10th, Resolute’s Boreal Forum initiative continued with a town hall discussion in Ignace Ontario, once again hosted by Resolute Forest Products’ President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Garneau. The discussion followed similar events held in Thunder Bay and Atikokan (Ontario) in late November of last year and in Quebec regions over the past 18 months.

We’ve got some good news to share with Ignace and surrounding area residents: the town’s sawmill, idled in 2006, had its inaugural reopening on February 10th. Attended by Resolute’s President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Garneau, the town’s mayor, Lee Kennard, sawmill employees, local media and invited guests, it was a celebratory affair!

Once again, our hard work on the sustainability front is paying off and being recognized. Following on the heels of being named to Corporate Knights Best 50 and Canada’s Clean50, Resolute has been awarded The New Economy’s Clean Tech Award for Best Forestry and Paper Solutions for 2014.

Iroquois Falls (Ontario) Mill and Two Paper Machines in Quebec to be Permanently Closed

Resolute Forest Products Inc. today announced the permanent closure of 465,000 metric tons of newsprint production capacity in Canada. This capacity reduction will be achieved with the permanent closure of the Iroquois Falls (Ontario) newsprint mill, as well as paper machine #1 at Baie-Comeau (Quebec) and paper machine #4 at Clermont (Quebec).